


Relief

by Liebelit



Category: Tin Man (2007)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-19
Updated: 2015-04-19
Packaged: 2018-03-24 20:18:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3783046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liebelit/pseuds/Liebelit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cain doesn't want to be on the ice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Relief

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a long while ago for the prompt "Relief" given by Nosferatu's Cigarette Binge.

The chill winter air bit at the back of Cain's neck, and he turned his collar up as he walked through the snow after Glitch.

Despite not being very fond of the cold and it being almost the middle of winter, his friend had insisted on going out to play in the snow; and that Cain should come with him to keep him warm. Normally they would have left the Northern Island by now and headed down to the warmer temperatures of Finaqua, but this annual they had been busy long into the fall and hadn't had a chance to move yet. Glitch, naturally, had taken that as an opportunity to drag Cain along on another of his adventures.

"Come on, tin man!" Glitch shouted from a good distance ahead of him, "If you don't quicken the pace there will be consequences!"

"Oh yeah?" Cain started going after him at a light jog when he saw Glitch making a snowball and ducking out of sight behind the tree line.

They were far away enough from the palace that they had crossed one of the island's bridges safely and reached the edge of the forest, but close enough that they were still within its icy terrain. Even though Glitch had had his brain back for three annuals and the former Ambrose would have probably scoffed at the idea of spending a day frolicking in the snow, the man Cain had grown to know and care about grabbed any chance he could get to do just that; and hauled Cain with him every single time. But he wasn't complaining. He enjoyed Glitch's company more and more now that things were finally settling down, and he wasn't going to admit it but getting out of the palace today had been the perfect idea after such an exhausting month.

When he got near where he had last seen Glitch, Cain bent down and formed a firm snowball between his hands. He walked ahead with caution, peering around random trees as he looked for his target. Having no luck in finding the former zipperhead, he turned a corner and then a smile tugged on his lips when he heard the familiar voice behind him.

"Too slow!" Glitch laughed just as a snowball crashed against Cain's back.

Cain turned around swiftly and threw his own snowball at Glitch, landing a direct hit to his shoulder before he could get away.

"Come here!"

They engaged in a friendly battle and threw snowballs back and forth for a good fifteen minutes before Cain crossed the short gap between them and tackled Glitch to the mound of snow behind which he had been hiding. He only managed to get there after being bombarded by snowballs but it was worth it.

"Got you now..." he said softly, hovering slightly over Glitch to avoid putting his entire weight on him.

"Yeah, you do." Glitch said dreamily, "Though you know, you got critically hit on the way." He grinned, pointing at the heaps of snow that dripped from Cain's hat and shoulders.

Cain hummed in agreement and thought of how beautiful Glitch looked like this, with a wide smile and a light blush on his cheeks; his thick dark curls framed by ivory snow lighter than his fair skin and his deep brown eyes brilliantly fixed on him. He thought of how easy it would be to lean in and kiss Glitch, how easy it would be to lie down and slide his arms around the wiry waist; to find some relief to the feelings that had been bubbling up for the longest time.

But he didn't. Instead, he stood up and offered a hand to help him up, choosing to gather his nerve another day.

It was still early but they started heading home to meet with Raw and DG for a late lunch. They walked side by side until they arrived at the stone bridge to one of the palace's entrances, and Glitch drew away from Cain toward the frozen lake.

"Hey, we should skate!" he said enthusiastically as his feet hit the ice and he slid over the surface unsteadily, extending his arms for balance.

The lake surrounding the palace was always frozen solid and was supposedly safe enough to cross, but there were bridges for a reason. Cain still remembered his close brush with hypothermia at this same frozen body of water when he had been thrown with enough force to break through it, and he approached the edge where snow met ice warily.

"Glitch, not today, okay?" he all but pleaded, "Let's just go home... DG and Raw are waiting."

"Oh come on, just dance with me for a while." Glitch smiled, twirling in place once before sliding further away from him. "I assure you the ice is quite thick this time of the annual. It won't crack, I promise."

"We don't have skates."

"Why should that stop us?" Glitch urged as he extended a hand to him, "Come on."

"Glitch, get back here now."

It was like he glided farther into the white expanse with every word, so Cain finally stepped forward with caution, wobbling slightly, and held out his hand. Glitch might laugh at him for this later but he just had a bad feeling and didn't want to be on the ice. "Please."

"Jeez, fine." Fortunately, Glitch seemed to notice the unease in his voice and started sliding back toward the edge.

But before their reaching hands could meet, Glitch took a brisk faulty step and slipped; he fell on his backside first but his head crashed hard on the ice before Cain could get to him.

"Glitch!" Cain was beside him a second later, kneeling on the unbroken ice beside the unconscious man just as he saw blood beginning to pool under his head.

"Gods," he gave a shaky breath as he listened to his friend's thankfully steady heartbeat, then quickly bent down and pulled him into his arms, carefully putting a hand behind his injured skull. After some urgent maneuvering to get off the slippery surface, Cain hooked an arm under Glitch's legs and propped his bleeding head on his shoulder, carrying him across the bridge back to the palace as fast as he could.

After a couple startled guards had let them through the gates and into the safe walls, Cain knelt down and gently lowered Glitch to the floor without letting go of him.

He heard DG coming before he saw her. "You guys went out without me! How—"

She stopped dead in her tracks once she entered the foyer and saw Glitch.

"Oh my God! What happened?" She gasped, "Is he—"

"He slipped on the ice." Cain said hastily, "Just go get Raw."

Taking one last look at Glitch's still form, she nodded once and ran back the way she came. Just then, Cain felt Glitch's head turning against his chest and he looked down to see a pair of bleary brown eyes.

"Ouch." Glitch muttered, "You were right, maybe I should have left skating for another day."

"You scared me." Cain said quietly, tightening his hold on him, "Just hang on, Raw's going to check you out in a moment and you'll be fine."

Even though the shoulder of his coat was soaked in blood, he could tell the flow was already stopping. It was probably just a flesh wound but Cain didn't want to take any risks given Glitch's medical history; and relief rushed through him when he saw Raw approaching them, followed by a very worried DG.

Glitch had closed his eyes again while they had been waiting, but he looked like he was just sleeping now instead of being knocked out. Cain was further reassured when Raw knelt beside them and put a wide, soothing hand behind his head.

"Glitch fine." He said as he healed him, "Wound bleed much, but not hurt him badly."

Once Raw was done, they lifted Glitch and carried him to his bedroom together, settling him into the bed while DG went to get some wet towels to clean the blood.

"You should change." She told Cain, eyeing the huge dark stain on his coat, "We'll take care of him over here and you can be back before he wakes up."

Cain hadn't told anyone about his growing feelings for Glitch, not even Glitch himself, but DG flashed him a knowing smile as she ushered him out of the room.

An hour later Cain and Glitch were both clean and freshly clothed; DG and Raw having left them alone in the room some time earlier. Slouched in a comfortable armchair by the bed, Cain watched as Glitch slowly stirred and woke up from his restful sleep. He blinked a few times before focusing on Cain and giving him a soft smile.

"Hey," Cain smiled back, sitting on the edge of the bed when Glitch shifted to make a space for him, "You okay?"

Glitch nodded jerkily, but he sounded much clearer this time, "Sorry I gave you a scare. It was just a clumsy fall." He slightly propped himself up on his elbows and smirked, "Although, if you had skated with me like I wanted then maybe you could have caught me."

Cain made an odd sound like a self-deprecating laugh and a sob all in one and dove in to capture Glitch in a tight hug.

"Oh, Wyatt... I'm sorry, I was just kidding. Of course it wasn't your fault!"

"No, it's just—" Cain shook his head, leaning back to look at his friend, "I've been trying to figure out how to tell you something and— I was so scared when I saw you bleeding out there. I was scared at the thought of you getting hurt without having the chance to..."

"To what? What did you want to tell me?" Glitch looked at him questioningly, deep brown eyes searching his own.

For some reason he struggled to get the words out. The possibility of Glitch not feeling the same way at all and this just putting a strain on their friendship went through his mind; he didn't want to risk that either. Still perched beside Glitch, he sighed and tipped forward until their foreheads touched.

"Wyatt?" he asked softly, and it was all the warning Cain got before the other man reached up and kissed him.

Glitch put his hand on the back of his neck, drawing him in and deepening the kiss as Cain's arms encircled his waist. It was a slow, gentle kiss that left Cain breathless and it felt like standing in the suns' light after the eclipse all over again.

"Was that what you wanted to tell me?" Glitch asked after they broke apart.

"Yeah," Cain chuckled, climbing fully under the covers beside him, "Thanks for figuring it out, sweetheart."

Glitch beamed, "It was taking you long enough, tin man!"

For months—or maybe even annuals—Cain had been falling for Glitch without knowing how to let him know. He had been too afraid to let him know, but all it had taken was a slip and a scare for them to realize what had been in front of them all along.


End file.
